1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the use of cement plugs in a well, particularly an oil or gas well, and particularly to cement plugs for well abandonment.
2. Background of the Invention
A cement plug is a relatively small volume of cement slurry placed in a wellbore for various purposes. At some time in the life of an oil or gas well, a cement plug may be required, either to correct some problem, or to facilitate some operation.
A dry hole is usually abandoned by setting cement plugs at various depths to prevent zonal communication or any migration of fluids that might pollute underground freshwater sources. Depleted producers must be plugged too, when they are abandoned.
Setting cement plugs has several potential problems particularly where high strength and good adhesion to the borehole wall are needed in order to have a suitable plug. First, contamination of the cement slurry with a drilling fluid generally alters the setting time and compressive strength of the cement formulation. Most water based drilling fluids increase the setting time requiring a longer waiting period for the resumption of drilling operations since compressive strength development is delayed. Oil invert emulsion drilling fluids (oil muds) typically have a high calcium chloride brine internal liquid phase which can significantly reduce the setting time and strength of the Portland cement. Contact with any brine in the drilling fluid or in the well will reduce the strength of Portland cement.
Second, contamination of Portland cement with the drilling fluid is highly probable due to the process used to place the cement plug in the borehole. A successive displacement process is used wherein the cement slurry is pumped down the drill string (or similar work string with an inner diameter substantially smaller than the diameter of the borehole). The slurry is then displaced out the bottom of the drill string into the annulus between the borehole and drill string by pumping a second (displacing) fluid down the drill string. This displacing fluid is typically drilling fluid.
The borehole is filled with drilling fluid and the cement slurry exiting the bottom of the drill string is traveling at a higher velocity than the fluid moving up the much larger annular space. Thus the cement slurry is "jetted" into the drilling fluid as its flow direction changes 180 degrees. Any chemical incompatibility between the drilling fluid and cement slurry may produce a gelled mass that inhibits effective displacement of the drilling fluid by the Portland cement slurry which can result in contamination of the entire cement volume.
Spacers are often used ahead of the Portland cement slurry to prevent contamination of the cement with the drilling fluid. These spacers are similar in composition to the drilling fluid. Clay and/or polymeric thickeners are used to viscosify the base fluid (usually water) in order to suspend weighting agents such as barites, hematites, or ilmenite. Emulsions of oil and water may also be used to provide viscosity for solids suspension. Often, surfactants and/or other solvents may be incorporated into the spacer to improve compatibility with the drilling fluid. Although more chemically compatible with the cement, spacer contamination of the cement slurry can occur and the effect on cement compressive strength is often similar to the effect of drilling fluid contamination.
This adhesion is typically referred to as the shear bond strength of the cement. Coatings on the surfaces of the formation can reduce the shear bond of the cement. The borehole wall is typically coated with a drilling fluid filter cake which was deposited when the formation was penetrated by the initial drilling operation. This drilling fluid filter cake has low strength and may be sheared off the borehole wall by downward movement of the cement plug during drilling. Drilling may be aggravated by the thickness of the filter cake and any bypassed drilling fluid left in sections of the annulus. Also, any coating of the spacer along the borehole wall may reduce the shear bond strength between the borehole wall and the cement plug.
The density of many materials used for plugs is greater than the drilling fluid density. The primary reason for this is higher compressive strength and greater drilling resistance. For Portland cement plugs, lower water to cement ratios are required to provide greater strength. Greater strength often is used to offset the potential strength reduction due to contamination by the drilling fluid. The disadvantage of high density formulations is the possibility of the plug falling through the drilling fluid below the interval where the plug is desired. The density differential between the drilling fluid and Portland cement increases the probability that an unstable interface will result between the cement and drilling fluid. If the interface between fluids is unstable, cement and drilling fluid can mix causing a poor quality plug.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to overcoming the above noted problems with Portland cement in the art, and in particular to problems experienced with effective placement of cement plugs for abandonment of oil and gas wells.